MOBILE, Ala. – The No. 21 University of South Alabama baseball team will travel to Boone, N.C., this weekend to face Appalachian State in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series.

The series will open with game one at 5 p.m. (CT) Friday, followed by game two at 2 p.m. (CT) Saturday. The series finale is set for a noon (CT) first pitch on Sunday.

South Alabama right-hander Kevin Hill (7-1) will make his ninth start of the season in the series opener. Hill is tied for the national lead and leads the SBC in wins (7). He also leads the conference in strikeouts (70), which is tied for second nationally. Hill's three complete games ranks tied for fifth in the country. He is tied for the league lead in innings pitched (62.2), and ranks second in ERA (1.87). Hill will square off with Appalachian State left-hander Bobby Hampton (1-5), who will also make his ninth start of the year in game one. Hampton enters the game with a 6.45 ERA with 30 strikeouts against 21 walks in 37 2/3 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .318 against him this season.

Jaguar right-hander Hunter Soleymani (2-1) will make his eighth start of the year in game two. Soleymani has struck out 27 batters against 15 walks in 46 innings pitched this season, and carries a 4.30 ERA into the contest. Appalachian State will send right-hander Breydan Gorham (1-3) to the mound for his eighth start of the year in game two. Gorham has 34 strikeouts to 11 walks in 41 2/3 innings, and enters the weekend with a team-best 4.75 ERA.

USA right-hander Austin Bembnowski (4-0) will get his eighth start of the year in Sunday's series finale. Bembnowski has struck out 28 batters against 17 walks in 36 2/3 innings, and carries a 3.68 ERA into the contest. The Mountaineers will counter with left-hander Colin Schmid (0-6), who will make his ninth start of the season. Schmid has struck out 33 batters and issued 23 walks in 37 2/3 innings, and enters the game with a 6.93 ERA. 

USA (26-8, 15-0 SBC) carries a five-game winning streak and a 15-game SBC winning streak into the series. The Jaguars lead the league in runs scored (228), RBI (204), stolen bases (56), walks (191) and sacrifice flies (22). South Alabama is second in the conference in on-base percentage (.390). The Jaguar pitching staff ranks second in the SBC in fewest walks allowed (99) and fewest runs allowed (140).

Cole Billingsley leads the Sun Belt in stolen bases (17), and is tied with Drew LaBounty for the league lead in sacrifice flies (6) which is tied for fourth nationally. LaBounty is tied for second in the conference in walks (27), ranks third in stolen bases (9) and fifth in on-base percentage (.463). Travis Swaggerty is tied for second with LaBounty in walks (27), and ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.465) and fifth in runs scored (33).

Danny Martinez ranks third in the league in RBI (31), and Jared Barnes is fifth in the conference in slugging percentage (.576) and tied for sixth in home runs (6). Left-hander Shane McKinley ranks tied for third in the SBC in saves (6), while southpaw James Traylor is tied for third in the league in wins (5). 

Appalachian State (8-25, 3-12) enters the weekend in last place in the SBC standings. The Mountaineers carry a five-game losing streak into the series after getting swept in three games last weekend at Troy. App State is 3-7 at home this season, with two of those three victories coming in a series win over Little Rock.

Live streaming for each game will be available at AppStateSports.com. All three games of the series will also be broadcast live on 99.5 FM The Jag in Mobile, and also available via the iHeartRadio app. Live stats for every Jaguar baseball game are available at USAJaguars.com, and in-game updates are provided at the Jaguar baseball Twitter account (@SouthALBaseball).

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).